Hearing Hai Xiao’s words, a flash of surprise crossed the tiger eyes of Wang Xiao’s Martial Soul Avatar.
Then, his pupils contracted sharply, and he said in an icy, deep voice, “As expected, those two evil Douluos who assassinated the Prince back then were sent by your people.”
Ten years ago, Xu Zihuang’s father had traveled incognito through the three native Douluo empires, with Wang Xiao acting as his sole guard.
Just as they reached the northwestern border of the Heavenly Soul Empire and were preparing to return to the Sun Moon Empire, they were suddenly ambushed by two Evil Soul Masters at the Titled Douluo rank.
At that time, Wang Xiao’s soul power was already at rank eighty-nine, only a step away from becoming a Titled Douluo.
Xu Zihuang’s father was also a Soul Douluo whose cultivation was barely inferior to Wang Xiao’s.
Coupled with a full set of high-quality soul bones gifted by the old Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire and his own powerful Purple Brilliance Heaven-Destroying Dragon martial soul, his combat power was even stronger than that of a typical Titled Douluo.
Although Evil Soul Masters were bizarre and dangerous, given the strength of the two men, if they had only focused on escaping, it wouldn’t have been easy for the two newly advanced Evil Douluos to keep them there.
However, they weren’t the only ones present at the time—Xu Zihuang’s mother was also there.
Of course, they eventually managed to escape from the two Evil Douluos, or else Xu Zihuang wouldn’t exist today.
But to protect Xu Zihuang’s parents, the price Wang Xiao paid was extremely heavy.
It took him nearly ten years of recovery to just stabilize his condition.
He was inflicted with the life-bound potent poison of one of the Evil Douluos.
Not only did he constantly suffer the excruciating pain of the poison corroding his internal organs and bones, but his soul power cultivation also completely stalled.
Upon returning to the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Zihuang’s father covered up the incident for various reasons.
He then used the excuse of needing Wang Xiao to assist with fief affairs to send him away from Mingdu to recuperate in the south.
Wang Xiao was certain no news had leaked during the process.
From his return to Mingdu until his departure, the only people who knew of his severe injuries were Xu Zihuang’s parents and a healing-type soul master who would never leak the information.
Judging from Hai Xiao’s current reaction, he clearly knew about the events from back then.
The only other source of this information could be the other two people involved: the two Evil Douluos.
The eight soul rings around Wang Xiao’s body began to pulse rapidly.
The darkness domain he had used earlier spread outward from his body once more, and the chilling killing intent in his eyes could no longer be hidden.
“It seems that during the palace coup three years ago, you people must have relied on the power of those Evil Soul Masters too.
Colluding with those inhuman Evil Soul Masters to usurp the throne?!”
Hai Xiao’s stiff face shifted.
His fists subconsciously clenched and unclenched.
Wang Xiao was right.
The shadows of Evil Soul Masters were indeed behind the palace coup three years ago.
Otherwise, how could the imperial palace, guarded by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion, be breached so easily?
He also knew that those Evil Soul Masters had ruthlessly slaughtered the citizens of the Sun Moon Empire, and he despised them from the bottom of his heart.
But beyond that, he had to first remain loyal to his lord.
Hai Xiao abruptly swung his right arm backward.
The clashing of his armor rang out with a crisp metallic sound, as if he were trying to throw off the hesitation in his heart.
Blue-purple lightning webs raged around his body the moment he swung his arm, and a giant, bizarre blue-purple fish phantom appeared behind him.
The fish phantom was entirely blue-purple with a broad body resembling a bat, and a dark tail tipped with a stinger.
The blue-purple lightning was seeping precisely from that stinger.
This was Hai Xiao’s martial soul: the Purple Thunder Manta Ray.
Also known as the devil ray, it was an incredibly ferocious and powerful sea soul beast.
An adult devil ray at the ten-thousand-year level was a creature that even the usually pack-hunting Great White Spirit Sharks and the Evil Orca tribes would actively avoid.
Despite being highly resistant to toxins, those two powerful species uniquely feared the terrifying venom on the devil ray’s tail stinger.
Hai Xiao’s Purple Thunder Manta Ray was an even stranger anomaly, possessing both water and lightning attributes.
“The affairs of the royal family are not something a small figure like me can meddle in.
To me, as long as the royal family is still in power, that is enough.
Prince Zheng Xuan once showed me kindness.
Although I knew about the palace coup, I did not participate in it.
Wang Xiao, there is no need to interrogate me like this,” Hai Xiao said, the hesitation in his eyes fading as he looked up calmly at Wang Xiao.
“We merely serve different lords.
Though I don’t know how you learned of the Prince’s location, since you’ve brought the remnants of the Imperial Dragon Legion here today, only one of us can leave alive.”
“And the countless citizens of our empire slaughtered by those Evil Soul Masters—do you not care about them either?” Wang Xiao sneered, his sharp gaze seemingly trying to pierce through Hai Xiao’s thoughts.
Hai Xiao couldn’t help but frown deeply.
The blue-purple lightning webs raging around him became denser, mirroring his turbulent mood.
He wasn’t nearly as calm as he appeared.
Wang Xiao’s words struck his core.
Born a commoner, he was rare to possess such great talent and a powerful martial soul.
Because of his origins, he understood the hardships of ordinary people better than anyone.
The rampaging sea soul beasts, the Evil Soul Masters massacring commoners, and the frequent wars with the Heavenly Soul and Star Luo Empires that left countless homeless—the continent seemed peaceful, but violent undercurrents surged beneath.
His original intention in joining the military straight out of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy was to protect his compatriots.
But learning that the lord he served secretly colluded with Evil Soul Masters left him with a lingering sense of guilt, as if his beliefs had collapsed in an instant.
Yet, the deep-rooted ideology of absolute loyalty made it hard for him to rebel.
When he took the initiative to leave Mingdu, the center of power, for this barren island, a part of him was simply trying to run away.
Wang Xiao laughed coldly, spread his wings, and let out a heaven-shaking tiger roar, charging toward Hai Xiao with overwhelming ferocity.
Perhaps using psychological warfare to force Hai Xiao into self-doubt and seize the initiative was a bit despicable.
But to reduce the casualties of his subordinates, he was willing to throw away his pride.
Besides, this was a life-and-death struggle to begin with.
Hai Xiao snapped out of his daze, casting aside his stray thoughts.
Dense soul power laced with violent blue-purple lightning surged forward to meet Wang Xiao’s aggressive charge.
Two yellow, three purple, and three black—likewise eight soul rings, though Hai Xiao’s ring configuration was slightly inferior to Wang Xiao’s.
The seventh black soul ring glowed deeper.
Enveloped in intense blue-purple lightning, a bizarre fish over ten meters long materialized in the sky above the island.
Its back was blue-purple, its belly snow-white, and its mouth and gills formed a creepy human face.
Facing an opponent as powerful as Wang Xiao, he naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to hold back.
Although the Sun Moon Empire heavily emphasized soul tools, the higher the rank of a soul master, the more they relied on their own martial soul in combat.
After all, whether a soul master or a soul engineer, the martial soul was the foundation.
A Martial Soul Avatar might look incredibly imposing, but for powerhouses at the Soul Douluo level like Wang Xiao and Hai Xiao, they could maintain it for over half an hour if they didn’t use other soul skills.
The true deciding factors were the subsequent soul skills and powerful, energy-consuming soul tools used while amplified by the Martial Soul Avatar.
Their tacit agreement to use their Martial Soul Avatars to fight high above the island was also to avoid accidentally harming their respective subordinates—and Xu Zihuang, who was still inside the castle.
(END CHAPTER)